Songs: Ohia — The Magnolia Electric Co. [10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]★ “The lyrics do take on even more haunting shades of emotional resonance considering Molina’s tragic death, but the music has always been there, and has aged incredibly well. Arguably Molina’s best record, it’s also his most accessible — a perfect gateway for someone looking to dive into his staggering oeuvre. Though Molina never shook the demons he sang about, his music undoubtedly helped many shake theirs.”— JOSH TERRY Θ≡ Jason Andrew Molina (December 16, 1973 — March 16, 2013) was an American musician and singer-songwriter, originally from Lorain, Ohio. He came to prominence performing and recording as Songs: Ohia, both in solo projects and with a rotating cast of musicians. Since 2003, he had recorded either under his own name or with a stable line-up of band members as the Magnolia Electric Co.★ “I DID PLAY A FEW BENEFITS, BUT I WASN’T LIVING IN NEW ORLEANS AT THE TIME. I DID SOME RECORDINGS THERE AND PLAYED A LOT OF SHOWS AROUND THAT TIME. NEW ORLEANS IS A WONDERFUL CITY, ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES ON THE PLANET.”— Jason MolinaLocation: Shores of Lake Erie ~ Lorain, Ohio ~ Indianapolis, IndianaStyles: Alternative Country-Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Folk-Rock, Indie Rock, Psychedelic/Garage, Alternative Pop/RockAlbum release: April 3, 2003 / November 8, 2013Recorded: July 1–3, 2002Record Label: Secretly CanadianDuration: 58:36 + 44:38 => 103:14Tracks: CD1:01. Farewell Transmission (7:21)02. I've Been Riding With The Ghost (3:21)03. Just Be Simple (4:21)04. Almost Was Good Enough (4:28)05. The Old Black Hen (5:48)06. Peoria Lunchbox Blues (5:48)07. John Henry Split My Heart (6:10)08. Hold On Magnolia (7:51)09. The Big Game Is Every Night (Album Session Outtake) (9:55)10. Whip-Poor-Will (Album Session Outtake) (3:54)CD2:01. Farewell Transmission (Demo) (6:56)02. I've Been Riding With The Ghost (Demo) (3:10)03. Just Be Simple (Demo) (2:54)04. The Old Black Hen (Demo) (4:56)05. Peoria Lunch Box Blues (Demo) (4:26)06. John Henry Split My Heart (Demo) (5:49)07. Hold On Magnolia (Demo) (6:24)08. The Big Game Is Every Night (Demo) (6:27)09. Whip-Poor-Will (Demo) (3:36)℗ 2013 Secretly CanadianEssential Tracks: “Farewell Transmission”, “Hold On, Magnolia”, and “The Big Game Is Every Night”★ The Japanese edition contains an additional track, "The Big Game Is Every Night". The first U.S. edition contained a bonus disk of demo recordings by Jason Molina.Album Moods: Bittersweet Brooding Intimate Melancholy ReflectiveContemporaries: Cat Power, Lambchop, Johnny Dowd, Edith Frost, Palace Brothers, Lou BarlowProducer: Steve AlbiniCREDITS:Θ≡ Steve Albini EngineerΘ≡ Jennie Benford Mandolin, VocalsΘ≡ Mike Brenner Lap Steel GuitarΘ≡ Jim Grabowski Organ, Piano, WurlitzerΘ≡ Steve Gullick PhotographyΘ≡ Dan MacAdam Guitar, Violin, VocalsΘ≡ Jason Molina Composer, Guitar, VocalsΘ≡ Scout Niblett VocalsΘ≡ Jeff Panall DrumsΘ≡ Lawrence Peters VocalsΘ≡ William Schaff ArtworkΘ≡ Dan Sullivan GuitarΘ≡ Rob Sullivan Bass

Description:★ "The hallmark of Jason Molina's career, Magnolia Electric Co., is both a confluence of all he would create and a line in the sand to mark a shift in his songwriting approach. It was the last statement under his iconic Songs: Ohia moniker, and the moment before he began making new legends as Magnolia Electric Co. for the next 10 years. Now with Molina gone, his work gathers more weight and meaning. This expanded 10-year anniversary edition of Magnolia Electric Co. features one never-before-released track plus many rarities."In french:★ Réédition en version Deluxe de l'album le plus connu et le plus vendu du regretté Jason Molina. Excellent!Review by Jason Nickey | Score:★★★★★ From the very beginning, there was always a certain blue-collar quality to Jason Molina's songs, a working-class element informing his lyrics. But nowhere is it more visible than on Magnolia Electric Co., the seventh Songs: Ohia album. The assured, denim-clad, '70s rock feel of the album positions it on the dark edge of town, in the neighborhood of Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, and Bob Seger. But these are no bombastic anthems like the songs of those populist rousers. Molina remains subjective and confessional in tone even when singing, "Someone must have set 'em up/Now they'll be working in the cold gray rock/Now they'll be working in the hot mill steam/Now they'll be working in the concrete," as he does on the incredible seven-plus minute opener, "Farewell Transmission." The song also serves as possibly the first real recorded display on a proper full-length album of what the Songs: Ohia touring band is capable of doing. Seasoned, powerful, and dynamic — for at least this one song — Songs: Ohia is an actual band and not just Molina and company. In fact, Magnolia as a whole has a much more open and collaborative feel than previous albums; Molina even relinquishes lead vocal duties on two occasions. Lawrence Peters applies some outlaw country grit to "The Old Black Hen," but the words sound somewhat awkward coming from him and as a result the song doesn't quite work. Much more successful is Scout Niblett on the rambling "Peoria Lunch Box Blues." Sounding like a female Van Morrison, you can almost see her obsessively pacing back and forth as she sings. But despite all the input from others, the most interesting and compelling thing about this release (like any Songs: Ohia album) is Molina's voice, which has grown beyond being simply an idiosyncratic instrument into a wonderfully expressive one as well. He uses it to stunning effect on "John Henry Split My Heart," a classic B-side rocker in the tradition of "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "Free Bird," and likewise on the relatively somber closer, "Hold on Magnolia," which gets help from slide guitar, violin, and a swaying rhythm to create a beautifully bittersweet mood. Magnolia Electric Co. may not be the best Songs: Ohia album, but it is certainly the most approachable. It has a big, open feel certain to appeal to any classic rock fan, but retains the warm intimacy of previous albums. Not an easy line to walk. (www.allmusic.com)Website:http://www.songsohia.com/MySpace:http://www.myspace.com/songsohiajasonmolinaLabel:http://secretlycanadian.com/blog/2013/11/album-release-songs-ohia-magnolia-electric-co-10-year-anniversary-deluxe-edition-out-now/Beta Musiv Interview | Resurrection songs: Jason Molina’s vision (by Lee Chung Horn)Θ≡ http://content.jasonmolina.com/post/22209037496/press-molina-betamusic2006Also:BY JOSH TERRY ON NOVEMBER 13TH, 2013 |★★★★★Θ≡ http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/11/songs-ohia-magnolia-electric-co-10th-anniversary-deluxe-edition/By Eric Carr | March 12, 2003 | Score: 8.2Θ≡ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7333-magnolia-electric-co/Stylus Magazine Review | Score: ASTYLUSMAGAZINE.COM'S ALBUM OF THE WEEK — JANUARY 18—24, 2004 Θ≡ http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/jason-molina/pyramid-electric-co.htmHENNING GRABOW | NOVEMBER 11, 2013 | Θ≡ http://nbhap.com/music/reviews/record-reviews/songsohia-magnolia-electric-co/DRIVINGMUSIC.NET:http://www.drivingmusic.net/By STEPHEN THOMPSON | November 03, 201311:00 PM | Θ≡ http://www.npr.org/Death:★ Molina died on March 16, 2013, in Indianapolis as a result of alcohol abuse-related organ failure. He was 39. Henry Owings, a friend of the musician, published an article on his online music magazine Chunklet that said Molina had struggled with alcoholism for most of the decade leading up to his death. Owings also wrote that Molina had "cashed out on Saturday night in Indianapolis with nothing but a cell phone in his pocket with only his grandmother’s number on it."Personal life:★ Molina was married to Darcie Schoenman Molina. They were estranged at the time of his death, and the couple had no children.Discography:NOTE: All are released through Secretly Canadian, unless otherwise specified.Albums:★ 1997 Songs: Ohia (also known as The Black Album)★ 1998 Impala (originally released on Happy Go Lucky)★ 1999 The Ghost (tour-only release)★ 1999 Axxess & Ace★ 2000 The Lioness★ 2000 Protection Spells (tour-only release)★ 2000 Ghost Tropic★ 2001 Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma (live album, Paper Cut Records)★ 2002 Didn't It Rain★ 2003 Magnolia Electric Co.EPs:★ 1997 Hecla & Griper★ 1998 Our Golden Ratio (Acuarela)★ 2001 Howler (Absalom)★ 2001 Travels in Constants (Temporary Residence)Singles:★ 1996 "Nor Cease Thou Never Now" (Palace Records)★ 1996 "One Pronunciation of Glory"★ 1999 "Untitled" (Western Vinyl)★ 2002 "The Gray Tower"/"Black Link to Fire Link"★ 2002 "Keep It Steady"/"United or Lost Alone"★ 2004 "No Moon on the Water"/"In the Human World" (Chunklet)Jason Molina:Albums:★ 2004 Pyramid Electric Co.★ 2006 Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go★ 2012 Autumn Bird Songs (Graveface)Magnolia Electric Co.:Albums:★ 2005 Trials & Errors (live album)★ 2005 What Comes After the Blues★ 2006 Fading Trails★ 2007 Sojourner (boxset)★ 2009 JosephineEPs:★ 2005 Hard to Love a Man★ 2009 It's Made Me CrySingles:★ 2009 Rider.Shadow.WolfCollaborations:Albums:★ 2009 Molina & JohnsonEPs:★ 2002 "Translation" on Split: My Morning Jacket / Songs: Ohia (Jade Tree)★ 2002 Amalgamated Sons of Rest with Will Oldham and Alasdair Roberts (Galaxia)Singles:★ 1998 "Nay, 'Tis Not Death" (Alternate) on split 7" with Appendix Out (Liquefaction Empire)★ 1999 "Journey On" on split 7" with Oneida (Jagjaguwar)★ 1999 "How to Be Perfect Men" on split 7" with Rex (Temporary Residence)★ 2000 7" single with Alasdair Roberts★ 2000 "Fade St." on split 7" with Glen Hansard (Road Relish)★ 2001 "Lioness" (Version) on split 7" with Scout NiblettSecretly Canadian press release:Θ≡ With the wailing lap steel of the album opener "Farewell Transmission," Jason Molina & Company usher in a new day, playing the sort of rock that your cool uncle rolled to back in the '70s. Landing somewhere on the radar sonically between Bob Dylan's Desire and Bob Seger's Beautiful Loser, though thematically in-line with Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man," The Magnolia Electric Co lies at the crossroads of working class rock, white soul, swamp rock and outlaw country.Θ≡ While Songs:Ohia's last record Didn't It Rain was a meditation on roots and stability, The Magnolia Electric Co finds itself toiling with the wages of change, which is well illustrated in "I've Been Riding with the Ghost", a real rig rocker that could have easily fit on Time Fades Away, on which Θ≡ Molina sings:See I ain't getting better, I am only getting behind. Standing on the crossroad trying to make up my mind. Trying to remember how it got so late. Why every night pain comes from a different place. Now something's got to change.Θ≡ This thematic preoccupation with change also manifests itself in the rotating cast of lead vocalists. While the entire album boasts a doo wop-like line-up with five vocalists on the floor, six of the eight songs have Molina in the tall stool with the ever-enchanting Jennie Benford (of Jim & Jennie & the Pinetops, who was also a key player on Didn't It Rain) as primary back-up vocalist. But on two songs, new Songs: Ohia players step up to take on lead vocal duties, singing Molina-penned songs. Θ≡ Lawrence Peters takes the lead on "The Old Black Hen" with his fantastic Merle Haggard-esque country croon, while Miss Scout Niblett appears from the nether world of the Ohia wardrobe with feathers in her hair and casts her spell on the Ohia rig barreling through "Peoria Lunch Box Blues."Θ≡ Recorded live, in its entirety, at the hands of Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio Studio in Chicago, Illinois, with the same core back-up band that played on the Mi Sei Apparaso Come Un Fantasma Italian live album, this is the record where the Songs: Ohia fan demographics make a radical shift from the dominant bedroom universe of the world's lonely, sensitive, overqualified young white dudes, and finds refuge in the masses by being embraced by the world's truck drivers, sorority chicks, and hockey players, alike. Indeed, this is the first Songs: Ohia record with more than one song that could be played at a strip joint or monster truck show. Amid the mid-tempo slow jams, there lie some of the most upbeat material that Songs: Ohia has recorded to date.Resumé:Θ≡ “If really I am the snake they’re all sayin’ / If they look up here, do they see just my black tail swayin’ / If I’m all fangs and all lies and all poison / If I’m really what they’re sayin’, I don’t wanna disappoint ‘em.”— Jason MolinaΘ≡ On the wonderfully titled “Honey, Watch Your Ass,” Molina sings an epic monologue, giving an unnamed woman who “smells like a train / hauling lilacs through the rain,” lessons in cynicism: “I’m finally showing her the switch / How I learned to hold it / In my teeth / How she’s got to keep / One razor sharp bloody piece / Of her old broken heart / How she’s got to use that edge to carve / Across her new heart / Something deep enough to hurt / So it always reminds her / Deep enough to last / Darling, honey, watch your ass.” Θ≡ Hold on Magnolia to that great highway moonΘ≡ No one has to be that strong, but if you're stubborn like me, I know what you're trying to beΘ≡ Hold on Magnolia, I hear that station bell ring Θ≡ You might be holdin' the last light I see before the dark finally gets a hold of me Θ≡ Hold on Magnolia, I know what a true friend you've beenΘ≡ In my life I have had my doubts, but tonight I think I've worked it out with all of themΘ≡ Hold on Magnolia to the thunder and the rainΘ≡ To the lightning that has just signed my name to the bottom lineΘ≡ Hold on Magnolia to that great highway moon Θ≡ No one has to be that strong, but if you're stubborn like me, I know what you're trying to be Θ≡ Hold on Magnolia, I hear that lonesome whistle whineΘ≡ Hold on Magnolia, I think it's almost timeΘ≡ Hold on Magnolia, I think it's almost timeΘ≡ It's almost time_______________________________________________________________